Huron County Peer Recovery Community Center to Celebrate with Fundraiser, Tim Ryan of A&E Featured Speaker

February 0522:312018

On February 24th, F I Community Housing will hold a Raffle for Recovery for their newest facility located in Norwalk. The Huron County Peer Recovery Community Center officially opened December 2nd and has been a beacon of hope for a four-county area.

Mike Pack, Director of the new Huron County Peer Recovery Community Center noted that with the dramatic increase in drug-related overdoses, the center provides the much-needed support to give people the opportunity to turn their lives around. The center, located in the heart of Ohio’s opioid-ravaged northwest, offers a variety of services all designed to meet the needs of anyone experiencing the effects of drug and alcohol addiction.

Mr. Pack recently stated, “A lot of communities across Ohio cannot afford to open a detox center or treatment center due to the cost. But every community can open a peer-to-peer center.”

“It’s a solution that works because peers are not above anybody and they are not below anybody. We are eye level. We can recognize mannerisms and behaviors that most people cannot. We can connect, understand, and help.”

The fundraising event, sponsored in part by Sharpnack Chevrolet-Buick-Cadillac will offer food, music, and auctions in addition to the raffle prizes. Prizes include vacation packages, bicycles, and more. Tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite or at several establishments throughout Norwalk, Ohio.

The featured guest speaker at “Raffle for Recovery” is Tim Ryan, star of A&E’s “Dopeman” show. Ryan, from Chicago, is also an author and the founder of A Man in Recovery Foundation. He has been traveling across America to bring awareness to addiction recovery.

Center Director Pack expressed, “I am grateful for the support of our wonderful community and businesses like Sharpnack, our amazing event sponsor. It has allowed us to offer our peer recovery services and host this celebration. A community that works together heals together and we want to show our thanks to the community.”

“This center has been built by the community with the help of the Huron County Sheriff’s Department, the Norwalk City Police, the Huron County Commissioners, Norwalk Mayor Rob Duncan, Fisher-Titus Medical Center, the OMHAS Board and so many others,” he also noted. “They understand that we need to come together as a community to find success.”

Ohio’s overdose deaths spiked in 2017, rising by 41 percent between May 2016 and May 2017, with the crisis showing no signs of abating. Drug overdoses claimed roughly 64,000 lives in the United States in 2016, with the vast majority related to opioids, helping to drive the average American life expectancy down in back-to-back years for the first time since the 1960s.

During his recent State of the Union Address, President Trump voiced his commitment to find a way to combat this crisis.

“My administration is committed to fighting the drug epidemic and helping get treatment for those in need, for those who have been so terribly hurt,” Trump said. “The struggle will be long and it will be difficult ― but, as Americans always do, in the end, we will succeed, we will prevail.”

As Trump and the states who declared a public health emergency work on coming up with a plan, United States Senator Rob Portman and others have praised F I Community Housing for trying to do their part. By giving those on the front lines of this crisis valuable resources to help prevent and reduce the chances of overdose or repeat overdose, F I and the new Huron County Center offers services where they are needed most.

Established in 1995, F I Community Housing is Ohio’s largest and oldest Peer Oriented and Operated Recovery Community Organization. Since inception, F I has partnered with many individuals and agencies to provide Recovery Support Services to over 18,000 men, women, and children, and helped to establish similar organizations across the country.

“The overall goal of F I Community Housing is to fill in those blanks that may be missing in an individual’s life as far as alcohol and other drug recovery or even on the mental health side,” said F I’s founder Rev. Denny Wilson.

Wilson’s goal for his community peer support model is to help with the long-term needs a person in recovery cannot receive in a traditional 30, 60, or 90-day treatment program. F I works closely with those in the programs to craft services that meet current needs.

Wilson commented, “We don’t objectify those that we serve, but get feedback from them, have them at the table, and listen to their suggestions.”

F I Community Housing and the Huron County Peer Recovery Community Center not only offer help to those with substance use disorder but their families as well.

Mr. Pack encourages community members and businesses who would like to attend, be involved, or support the event to reach out for more details and information at (567) 805-1262.